Throughout the pandemic different countries have had drastically different reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic. The countries playing it safest (such as New Zealand) virtually locked down their country. In the specific case of New Zealand, I can recall seeing pictures of a sporting event there a number of months ago where the stands were packed and nobody wore masks. They were able to do so because there were literally no COVID-19 cases in the country at that time. The United States has consistently been on the opposite end of the […]
Canada
Our Family Is Starting To Get Our Travel Groove Back
It was a cacophony of voices. We sat down for dinner this evening and we were talking about a return to our friends’ ranch in Colorado. It was a fun, light-hearted discussion. We haven’t been talking too much about travel because we’ve chosen to stay home, other than our RV adventures. Then, I asked the question that lit the fire. I looked at my kids and asked them, “Travel restrictions are lifted immediately, what’s the first place you’d want to go?” Not a single person hesitated. Even my wife jumped […]
Europe Is Closed To Americans, Canada Too. What’s The Human Side?
Aside from all of the fear over the past 90 days (wow, has it really only been a few months?) while the COVID-19 pandemic ramped up in the US, there have been so many interesting things to watch in the world of travel. How does an airline go from full planes to virtually empty, with hundreds of planes grounded? If you’re a government agency, how do you effectively enforce a quarantine? These are very, very different issues than what we normally deal with. And, now that people are starting to […]
Wonder Why Everyone But The United States Is Banning The Boeing 737 MAX 8?
Plenty of conflicting opinions on the Boeing 737 MAX 8 and why virtually everyone in the world has grounded the plane. Why hasn’t the FAA made a move to ground the 737 MAX 8 or ban it from US airspace while other countries have? Is everyone looking at the same data? Are some countries overreacting or is the FAA not going far enough?
That Story About The Experienced Traveler Who Scared The Crap Out Of His Wife And Almost Got Her Global Entry Revoked
I made a mistake that almost cost my wife her Global Entry. Who knows? It still may have. Here’s the story of how we ran into trouble on an otherwise normal flight back to the US.
Southwest And Hawaii, Norwegian And Canada, Cheap Flights To Spain
The Best of the Rest is my effort to summarize all the travel/miles and points stories that interested me on a daily basis but didn’t have time to write about in length. Culled from over 100 blogs/authors I follow, some are passed along without comment, while I add my analysis to others. This is your shortcut to find out what’s going on in the travel world without having to read dozens of travel blogs to get all the best info.
No Donut Is Worth Going To Jail Over. Seriously
Donuts are not worth jail time. Please correct me in the future if I ever say otherwise.
Well Played? It Appears Bombardier Found A Way To Beat Boeing And The US Government
I’ll admit, I somehow missed that Airbus and Bombardier talked about a tie-up on the C Series a couple years ago. That would have made yesterday’s announcement a bit less surprising to me. I can’t tell if Boeing saw this coming. And, I can’t really say what’s going to happen next.
Starwood Announces Their Award Category Changes For 2017
Are your favorite SPG hotels getting more expensive or cheaper for redeeming points? On whole, I think it’s a relatively mild change. There are a few notable properties and regions where things get cheaper or more expensive.
Hyatt News: New Brands, New Locations
There were a couple of interesting tidbits yesterday about one of my favorite hotel chains, Hyatt. First, they announced a new brand coming to the Hyatt family. Centric is to debut this year with properties in both the US and abroad. As others have noted, creating a new lifestyle brand seems a bit out of sorts considering the brands Hyatt already has in their portfolio. I’m guessing that market research showed them there was a segment that wasn’t addressed. On the flip side, it may be that there’s a larger […]
